


The Rough Draft

by iloveitblue



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A lil bit angsty, M/M, Pining, Song fic, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 19:22:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18857485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iloveitblue/pseuds/iloveitblue
Summary: The one where Phil writes Clint an email.Warning: This fic is image heavy!





	The Rough Draft

**Author's Note:**

> For the purposes of this story, circumstances have made it so that Phil has to ride a commercial plane. Don't overthink it. lol
> 
> Eyy. I'm back to drop off this fic! Y'all thought I was dead, didn't you? 
> 
> This fic was heavily inspired by the song [Dear Mccracken](https://open.spotify.com/track/51tHIBkRkYA4CS9WaPakDu) by Bug Hunter. It's such a funny and painful song! Listen to it if you can!

Bug yawned for the third time in the last five minutes. It's 4:30 in the morning and he's been in the airport for the last three hours waiting to board his flight back home. He's at the last stretch of his journey though, and in a couple of hours, he'll be safe in his room in the warm embrace of his bed. He trudged along the aisle, looking for his seat. As he approached his seat, he noticed that there was already a man sitting on the seat next to his. Bug didn't pay it any mind. He was tired, and he just wanted to get this flight over with so he could return to the love of his life: his bed. 

He took his headphones out and placed his backpack in the overhead bin. As he sat down, the speakers came alive with the pilot's voice, "Uh, Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning. I have just been informed by air traffic control that we'll be delayed a few minutes due to the congestion of air traffic. Rest assured, ladies and gentlemen, that we'll be able to take off as soon as we get the green light. Thank you."

Great. A delay. Should he be surprised? No, not at all. Is he still slightly miffed? Definitely.

Bug sighed, but buckled up and prepared for the wait. He took out his phone and checked the time, only to realize that his phone had died from the three hours of use in the airport. Great. Absolutely wonderful. Now, what was he supposed to do? He picked up the magazine on the seat pocket in front of him and skimmed through it. He'd already read this one. Fuck. Okay, what about the Emergency and Safety card? It was mostly diagrams and he was sure he'd finish reading and re-reading it in five minutes. 

Well, that left...

Bug looked at the man beside him. He looked like he was somewhere around his forties, maybe fifties. He was dressed in a clean cut black suit that fit his shoulders nicely. He wore a red tie and a white button down. _Probably an accountant or something,_ Bug told himself. As if he could sense someone was looking at him, the man turned to Bug. Bug at least had the decency to look away and admire the cabin lights. They were very bright. The man turned to his work again and started typing.

Bug didn't want to get caught staring but there was nothing else to do and he could side-eye what the man was writing, so of course, he was going to read it. 

Barton... Like the Avenger, Barton? Oh, this was definitely more interesting than staring at the cabin lights. The man's fingers hovered over his keys as if he was unsure of what to type next.

_It's a good start_ , Bug thought to himself. The tone was nice and light. From this alone, Bug could tell that this man had once been good friends with Barton. They had their little inside joke and everything! 

Bug looked up from the screen and watched the man's face. He looked almost bored. But the contents of the mail said otherwise so Bug looked closer. The man's jaw tensed every so often and his fingers were slightly shaking over the keyboard. He was trying to make it sound like it was  _just_ a friendly e-mail. 

Bug felt sad for the man. It was obvious that he still felt guilty for something he did. And it was obvious that he was still in love with Barton. From the tone of his letter, the man seemed satisfied just being Barton's friend. It seemed like he's accepted that fact a long time ago. 

Bug had always thought that when he grew up, he'd have everything figured out. The adults around him at least made it seem like they had everything figured out. He just thought that by the time he was this man's age, he wouldn't have to worry about juvenile things like unrequited love, and pining, and heartache. Turns out, the opposite was true. This man looked like the most competent accountant Bug has ever seen and he still held his cards so close to his chest, unable to let go, and hurting, all at once. 

Bug wanted to hug the man. 

He opened his mouth to tell the man to rewrite his letter. He knew it wasn't his place, and he knew that the man is more than likely to lash out at him for reading, but Bug wanted him to know that he didn't have to hurt like this. He could tell Barton the truth and- and-

"Folks, we just received the green light from air traffic control. Please return to your seats and buckle up." The pilot said over the speakers, making Bug and the man look up from the screen.

The man closed the tab and shut his laptop off, tucking it away for safe keeping, and looking out the window. Bug sighed quietly. He supposed there was really nothing he could say to change the man's mind. It wasn't Bug's business anyway. Maybe it was for the best that he sent what he did. It just seemed like such a shame that Barton was going to go the rest of his life without knowing how deeply this man loved him.

The mail Barton was going to read was not going to be as honest as the draft the man had written because, in the rough draft, he loved him.

**Author's Note:**

> For the purposes of this story, circumstances have made it so that Phil has to ride a commercial plane. Don't overthink it. lol
> 
> Edit: There was a gif missing. Fixed it!
> 
> I hoped you liked it! Drop me a hello on [tumblr ](https://iloveitbluetoo.tumblr.com/) or a request on [my other tumblr ](https://promptmephlint.tumblr.com/).


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